"The President’s Own" Marine Band is returning to Rexburg in October for the first time since 1985. The concert will be held on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on the BYU-Idaho Center stage. Tickets are free and can be requested online with a limit of four tickets per individual request. The event organizers recommend that ticket holders arrive 15 minutes early.

"We are incredibly excited to continue the tradition of our national concert tour. Musicians of the band are more eager than ever to share their musical talents with audiences live, and in-person on this Coast to Coast tour,” said current Marine Band Director Lt. Col. Ryan Nowlin as reported by BYUI I-Belong.

In 1891, President Benjamin Harrison permitted the band to tour the country for the first time. John Philip Sousa, the 17th leader of the Marine Corps Band, then started the concert tour tradition.

“Although Sousa is stereotyped as a march composer, he composed music of many forms, including 15 operettas,” according to the Library of Congress. “Among his many original works for band are suites, humoresques, fantasies, descriptive pieces, and dances. In addition to the over 200 songs of his operettas, he composed 70 other vocal works, and many of these vocal works (were) transcribed for use with the Sousa Band.”

Nowlin has planned this year’s musical program to honor Sousa.

“Concertgoers can expect a mix of works including traditional band repertoire, Sousa marches, contemporary compositions, vocal and instrumental solos and a patriotic salute to the Armed Forces,” according to BYUI I-Belong.

In 1798, President John Adams established the Marine Band, and in 1801, Thomas Jefferson coined the added title of “The President’s Own.” Today, “The President’s Own” Marine Band has traveled internationally and plays for every presidential inauguration in the United States.

The Marine Band won an Emmy in 2019 in collaboration with Gerald Schwarz, an American composer and conductor.

“‘The President’s Own’ was the first musical institution inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in Cincinnati,” according to the Marine Band’s history on their official website.

Idaho is not the only state that will hear the band while they travel on their tour this October. Over the next 30 days, the band will perform in multiple states including West Virginia, Colorado, Illinois and Oregon.

According to the band’s official website, there are also auditions coming up in November for new band members. The positions to be filled include the cello, English horn, percussion and clarinet. Audition times and dates are on the Marine Band website.

There are also open positions for the production crew including stage manager and video crew.

To hear more about the Marine Band’s performance, see the article “The President’s Own” Marine Band to perform at BYUI for first time in 40 years.